Richard Roeper, 58, will be allowed back at the Chicago Sun-Times following the paper’s investigation into his purchase of 50,000 fake Twitter followers
The Chicago Sun-Times has decided to reinstate its film critic Richard Roeper, who was implicated in the New York Times report on people who purchase fake Twitter followers.
The newspaper conducted an investigation into the matter and had, in the interim, suspended Roeper. His suspension, which he complied with, was announced Monday and his reinstatement was announced on Thursday.
The paper announced in a statement: ‘Roeper will continue to write movie reviews. He also will write TV reviews, as well as entertainment stories — but not general interest news columns.
‘He will start a new Twitter account, delete his existing Twitter account shortly thereafter and never purchase followers on any social-media platform.
‘The Sun-Times will implement a policy to clarify what we thought was obvious — that journalists should not pay to acquire followers on social media.’
The company found that Roeper, 58, had purchased around 50,000 followers between July 2014 and July 2016 and had used $650 of his personal funds to do so.
He apparently told the company that he was under the impression the followers he purchased were real.
The company did not, before the announcement, have an explicit employee ban on purchasing fake followers.
The investigators also noted: ‘Roeper is genuinely contrite — aware, now, that these purchases were improper.’
Roeper, who co-hosted At the Movies with critic Roger Ebert for eight years and has worked as a journalist since 1987, was included in the New York Times report last weekend as a notable celebrity who bought fake Twitter followers.
Specifically, the critic purchased these followers through a company called Devumi, which according to the Times report had committed ‘a kind of large-scale social identity theft’.
After the news broke, Roeper released a statement that read: ‘New York Times reportage has named me as one of many people that have purchased Twitter followers. The reports are accurate.
‘On a number of occasions, in an effort to build my brand, I bought Twitter followers. I did this on my own, without the knowledge of the Chicago Sun-Times or any other media organization for which I have worked.
‘In the interest of transparency and a fresh start, I will be voluntarily deactivating my Twitter account and launching a new account. To the thousands of you that followed me on Twitter, I hope you’ll join me at my new Twitter handle, @RichardERoeper.
‘I want to express my thanks to the many colleagues and friends — and readers and listeners and viewers — that have reached out to me over the last few days to express support. Your trust is something I have worked hard to earn over the course of my career.
‘Moving forward, I will do everything I can to keep that trust.’
Roeper said in a statement: ‘On a number of occasions, in an effort to build my brand, I bought Twitter followers. I did this on my own, without the knowledge of the Chicago Sun-Times or any other media organization for which I have worked’
Both Roeper and the Sun-Times have indicated that they will not publicly discuss the matter any further.
At the time of the Chicago Sun-Times’ Monday announcement, Roeper had 225,290 followers. As of early Sunday morning, he had 199,119.
Roeper has been a columnist for the Sun-Times since 1987. He has been named as one of the best columnists in America in multiple awards categories.
He joined Roger Ebert for At the Movies after Gene Siskel’s death. Originally, he served as a guest host and was later hired. He remained on the show until 2008.
Roeper has since hosted multiple different shows in addition to his written reviews. The Sun-Times said it had plans for Roeper to write a general interest column in the coming weeks. It is not clear whether these plans still stand.
